Warriors of the Planet
by Silk Weaver
Summary: Warriors who fight for the planet are not forgotten, even long after they have gone to the lifestream. Oneshot.


Author's Note: Whoo, isn't this one different! This one is definitely not what I usually do. Anyway, I started this one because I was thinking of the summon "Knights of the Round" and how it's supposed to be King Arthur and the knights of the round table. They're supposed to be great warriors from the past. So I figured, why shouldn't a materia that summons the members of AVALANCHE be created in the future? After all, they're powerful warriors too. I didn't include Cait Sith in this because he's a robot and wouldn't go into the lifestream, and I think Nanaki would still be alive so I didn't include him either.

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**Legacy of the Planet**

AVALANCHE

"It's no use!" the frustrated cry rang out across the battlefield, carrying above the thud of blows being landed and the creature's roars. "We have to pull back! With its mutations, this thing is too much for us right now!" The speaker- a young man in a surprisingly neat tan uniform- leaped to the side with a startled yelp as the monster they were fighting charged him. He managed to avoid getting caught on the creature's horns, and it skidded in an attempt to slow down when it realized that it had overshot its target.

It truly was a fearsome opponent. The creature vaguely resembled a bull, except that it was roughly three times larger than a normal one, and was covered in spikes and hard, almost scaly black skin. They had also discovered the hard way that it had a very impressive set of teeth. The motley bend had been worn out when they had come across this beast, and they were rapidly running out of energy. If they didn't get out soon, it was likely that they would be killed.

The bull-like monster was trying to slow down so it could turn to charge again. Another of the adventurers, a girl with her hair in a long braid, leaned on her staff for a moment to catch her breath. "It's not like I don't like the idea or anything, Tal, but it might not work," she panted and turned her head toward the young man in uniform. "We'd need to distract it, and we're not exactly prepared for that. Brite's the only one who's got enough energy left for flashy stuff, but she needs her magic to patch up His Highness," the woman jerked her head to the side, towards an auburn-haired girl, who was hovering over a silky-haired man wearing Wutaian clothing. He was unconscious, and a large gash on his chest had stained his shirt a sticky red.

"Shit, here it comes again," the staff-wielder hissed before anyone could answer. Then the creature was on them, trying to slash them with claws and horns. When the creature's charge finally took it past them, Tal could see with some relief that no one had gotten any large injuries from the monster. They were just lucky that the creature had such a hard time slowing and turning, otherwise they would have been defeated by now. They could barely manage to wound the thing.

"What about materia?" Brite called out, eager to help even if she wasn't needed in the battle. "Didn't we find a Summon earlier? Use that, and we can escape while the monster is fighting the summon."

"Oh, right!" Tal started patting down his uniform, trying to remember where he'd tucked the scarlet orb after they'd found it. After several long seconds of searching, he fumbled open one of his pockets. "Hah! Got it!" he exclaimed, pulling out the Summon materia. "It's called… Avalanche," he reported, frowning at the name.

"Whatever! Just hurry up and use it, that thing's about to attack again!" the woman with the staff- Armeia- commanded.

The young man nodded and cupped the materia in his hand, cradling it close to his chest. The orb began to glow softly, and the summoning circle appeared in the air for a quick moment. Misty tendrils of pale green began rising from the ground, swirling through the area of ruins that was serving as a battlefield. It rose, slowly at first, then thicker and thicker, until there was a swaying sea of green energy all around them. The tendrils writhed, condensing in some areas, thinning in others, solidifying and taking form as the Summon finished appearing.

The clearing was filled with people.

Tal blinked in surprise. The Summon- Summons- were certainly unusual. They all looked human, and yet he had never heard of a human Summon before. And there were so many of them! He stared at the battlefield, taking in all of the new fighters. There was a giant of a man, dark-skinned, with what looked to be a robotic arm. Standing next to him was a woman with long, dark hair, poised with her fists up in a guard position. Another young woman in pink was standing near Brite. A girl, who looked vaguely Wutaiian stood in front of her. To the side, a scowling blonde-haired man carried a spear, and in the rubble behind him perched a spectre of a man, dressed in red and black. In front of them all, right in the monster's path, was a spiky-haired man with an enormous sword.

For a moment after the summoning was completed, they remained still, frozen and almost statuesque. All of the Summons remained motionless as the mutated creature barreled toward them, and Tal was beginning to panic. Then, only when the creature was almost on them did they move, and the clearing erupted into battle.

The swordsman had immediately leaped forward, somehow slowing the creature's charge as his blade squealed against its horns. The spearman dashed forward into a flying leap that landed him squarely on the creature's back and made it roar and buck. The woman in pink hung back, surrounded with the soft glow of healing magic. The other two women dashed forward, attacking the creature's flanks. The monster was stunned for a moment by the assault, and did not move to defend itself from their first attacks. A painful slash from the sword caught its attention and made it rear, forcing the fighters away.

Before the monster could recover, it was hit by a barrage of gunfire. Tal flinched, startled by the sudden loud sound. He glanced around to see where it was coming from, and immediately noticed that the dark-skinned man's robotic arm had transformed into a machine gun, and was being fired at the monster. The other set of gunshots were from the cloaked man's weapon. This man took his time shooting, aiming for the monster's vulnerable points instead of sending a spray of bullets at it. The other Summons took their cover fire as a chance to recover, and then charged back into battle.

Tal watched the summoned warriors with s feeling of stunned awe. All of them fought with the ease and grace of veteran fighters, even though some of them looked even younger than him. They worked together seamlessly, with each warrior able to attack without hindering any of the others. For a time, he only watched the fight, intent on studying their fighting style. It was one to be envied, certainly, and he couldn't think of a way that it could be imitated by his own ragtag crew.

The monster had managed to hit one of the fighters, the spearman. He was knocked away from the battle, clutching a bloody shoulder. Tal could see the man's mouth moving, as if he were shouting or cursing, but he couldn't hear anything. The woman in pink hurried over to heal the wound. Once again he could see the man, and now the woman, talking. But he still couldn't hear so much as a whisper from them.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't heard a sound from any of them, not a grunt or a shout of pain or an exclamation. It gave the eerie impression that even if they had been summoned, the warriors were still not all there.

There was a flash from the overlarge sword, and suddenly, inexplicably, the battle was over. The monster slowly collapsed, oozing sickly black blood from cuts all over its body. The warriors all slowly relaxed, loosening their holds on their weapons and stepping back from the creature's corpse.

A brilliant flash of green light and they were gone, with only a dead monster and healed wounds as evidence that they had even been summoned.

"Wow…" Brite's awed whisper filled the silence. With a start, Tal realized that they hadn't even taken the opportunity to get away from the battle, even if the Summons had defeated the monster.

Armeia nodded. "Now _that_ is a powerful Summon," she said, nodding at the crimson sphere still cradled in Tal's hand. "We'll have to use it again some time, definitely."

Tal nodded, carefully stowing the materia in one of his pockets. "All right, let's get going." He said, focusing. "We still have a long way to go before we're safe, and the quicker we go, the fewer monsters we'll come across." The two women nodded and started off through the ruins again, with Armeia carrying their unconscious Wutaiian companion. Tal followed behind, his thoughts still on the powerful summon they had found. As he walked, he slipped his hand into his pocket, brushing his fingers against the orb. '_Who are you?'_ he wondered silently. '_Why is your Summon materia called "Avalanche?" Why are you all so strong?'_


End file.
